First, the misunderstanding of left Qinglong and right Baihu
I often hear people say [left Qinglong, right white tiger]. What is this? This is nothing strange, just a feng shui term. As simple as the chemical name of [water] is [[〔H2O〕]]. But it happened that some charlatans pretended to be mysterious, making "Qinglong" and "White Tiger" mysterious, beyond the understanding of ordinary people. This means that when people don't know that [H2O] is [water], they will feel profound when they hear [H2O], but once they know it, they are nothing.
Four spirits are in charge of spring, summer, autumn and winter. In fact, in addition to the "dragon" and "white tiger", there are four kinds of animals, Suzaku, Xuanwu and * * *, which are collectively called the Four Spirits.
Twenty-eight inns were established in ancient China, which were divided into four groups with seven stars in each group. These four groups are the stars in the sky in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season is equipped with an animal and an orientation (see attached figure).
Spring matches the East, and its spirit is Qinglong, because Qinglong represents the vitality of spring and the growth of all things. The vitality of Qinglong is equivalent to the germination of flowers and plants in spring.
As for summer, the weather is hot, so it is represented by Rise of the Legend. And birds are particularly active in summer, so the spirit of summer is Suzaku. Suzaku is a red firebird. In addition, summer is accompanied by the south.
Autumn is full of cold air, and there are more executions in ancient times than in autumn, which is called autumn decision. When autumn comes, yellow leaves fall. So [White Tiger] just represents the loneliness and cold breath of autumn. In addition, autumn is accompanied by the west.
Winter is accompanied by the north. Flowers and trees are no longer lush in winter, and animals hibernate, just like collections. Therefore, Xuanwu just represents this season. The so-called [Xuanwu] is a big black turtle, because turtles have a collection image. Black is better for convergence.
Second, the origin of tiger breeding
In ancient times, some doctors in China collected and experimented with the efficacy of various drugs everywhere. They usually have a bell in their hand. The bell is shaped like a copper ring, and people call it "tiger support" or "tiger title". This is their amulet.
Legend has it that Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, was suddenly stopped by a tiger on his way up the mountain to collect medicine. The tiger is ahead and can't escape. The medicine king carries a long pole for collecting medicine with him, but it is not easy to deal with tigers with this clumsy pole. He was at a loss and just stared at the tiger in fear. Strangely, the tiger didn't pounce on him. Instead, he squatted on the ground with his mouth open. He looked at the drug king with sad eyes and kept shaking his head gently. King Yao was shocked by what he saw. He slowly approached the behemoth in front of him. He saw a huge animal bone stuck deep in the tiger's throat. The kind drug king wants to help him and take out the bones for him, but he is worried that if the animal suddenly shuts up because of pain, his arm will be bitten off. Just then, he remembered a copper ring on the pole. He took it off and put it in the tiger's mouth to open his mouth, so that he didn't have to worry about his own safety. He put his hand through the center of the copper ring, reached into the mouth of the blood basin, quickly pulled out the bone and quickly applied ointment to the wound. When the drug king took the bronze ring out of the tiger's mouth, the tiger kept nodding, as if thanking the kind doctor. Since then, the copper ring has been transformed into a hand-cranked rattle, which has become a symbol of herb picking. All doctors will take them with them when they go out to collect medicines to show that they are all disciples of the King of Medicine. Only the King of Medicine can treat tigers and will not be attacked by them.
Third, tigers learn art.
In China's folk fairy tales, there is also a widely circulated story of "tiger learning skills": although the tiger swaggered around in the mountains, it had one of its biggest weaknesses, that is, it could not climb trees. Because a long time ago, tigers didn't have any skills, so they could only learn all kinds of skills from cats. The enthusiastic cat soon taught it various skills such as vertical, jumping, jumping and flapping, and also discovered the fierce and cruel nature of the tiger, leaving a hand in the process of teaching. When the tiger felt that he had completely learned the cat's skills, it uncharacteristically bit off the hand that fed it, and even jumped on it, trying to eat the cat in one bite. The cat, on the other hand, jumped to the top of the tree in no hurry to avoid being blindsided. The tiger crouched under the tree, helpless, and begged the cat to teach him how to climb the tree. Cats are no longer fooled, and tigers can't learn to climb trees at last.
Fourth, the roller.
In ancient China, the image of the tiger was greatly admired, especially in the military. For example, the military symbol of dispatching troops carved a tiger with gold, which is called the tiger symbol.
The symbol of the tiger first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, the bronze tiger was used as a transfer certificate issued by the central government to local officials or garrison leaders, and was called the tiger symbol. There is an inscription on the back of the drum, which is divided into two halves. The right half is kept in the imperial court, and the left half is given to generals or local governors. It is always dedicated to a place and a symbol. It is absolutely impossible to mobilize troops from two places at the same time with one roller. It takes two halves to verify the truth before it takes effect. In the Museum of Chinese History, there is a "Western Han Yang Hou Hu Hui", which is 7.9 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. The tiger is crouching, with a flat head and a protruding tail between the left and right neck ribs. Quot Take Tang Yanghou as the first tiger symbol ". The Shaanxi Museum in xi also has a tiger sign found in the western suburbs of Xi. It is a cultural relic of the Warring States Period from 475 BC to 22 BC1year. It is called the "Du" scepter of the Qin Dynasty. 4 cm high, shaped like a tiger, symbolizing military strength and urgent March. The body of the tiger symbol is engraved with a 40-word gold inscription, which describes the object and scope of transfer, but it is extremely beautifully made.
Tiger symbols played an important role in ancient wars, and many related stories happened. According to Records of the Historian, in 257 BC, during the Warring States Period, the State of Qin sent troops to besiege Handan, the capital of Zhao. Zhao's wife was Wei Xinling's sister, and he asked Wang Wei and Xin Lingjun for help. Wang Wei asked the veteran to lead a 654.38+ 10,000-strong army to save Zhao, but later he was afraid of the strength of Qin State and ordered the troops to sit tight. In order to save Han, Xin, the son of Wei, conspired with Ruji, Wang Wei's wife, to let Ruji steal the tiger symbol in Wang Wei's bedroom, and used this tiger symbol to seize the army, defeat Chi and save Zhao. Mr. Guo Moruo once chose this theme to create the script of the famous drama Tiger Fu, which was performed by Beijing People's Art Theatre. In Chapter 51 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao and Battle of Red Cliffs suffered a crushing defeat. Zhuge Liang took advantage of the emptiness of the southern county, ordered Zhao Yun to capture the city successfully, and captured the commander-in-chief of the garrison, Chen Jiao, to obtain a spell, and then used this spell to cheat the garrison of Jingzhou out of the southern county. Then Zhang Fei attacked Jingzhou, and then transferred the garrison of Xiangyang in the same way. Guan Yu took the opportunity to attack Xiangyang. Zhuge Liang drove Cao Bing away with a little tiger symbol and captured the three cities without bloodshed, while Zhou Yu of Soochow, who spent a lot of money, food and military forces, got nothing. How can he not be angry? This also shows the great role of the tiger symbol at that time.
Historically, the shape, quantity, inscription and grade of tiger symbols have also changed greatly. From the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, the tiger symbols were all made of copper, and on the right was the respect for the inscription on the riding seam. In the Sui Dynasty, it was changed to Fu Lin. In the Tang dynasty, because of avoiding tigers, they switched to fish symbols or rabbit symbols, and later switched to turtle symbols. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the symbol of the tiger was restored. Tiger-headed cards were used in the Yuan Dynasty, and later generations evolved into bronze medals.
Five, the story of tiger's head shoes
Today, children can still be seen wearing tiger-headed shoes in rural areas of China. Tiger shoes are all made of cloth, and the toe is made into the shape of a tiger's head. Tiger-headed shoes have a long history in China. Behind this history, there is such a legend.
A long time ago, in the famous ancient city of Yangzhou, there lived a boatman. His name is Dayang. He is generous and willing to help others. Soon, an elderly traveler came to the village, and she praised Dayang's kind character. When she left, she gave an ancient painting to Dayang. In the picture, a beautiful girl is sewing a pair of tiger-headed shoes with needle and thread. The boatman likes this painting very much. As soon as he got home, he hung it on the wall beside his bed.
One night, the girl in the picture suddenly came out of the picture and had a good time with Dayang. Since then, they have met every night. A year later, they gave birth to a boy, and the boy brought more joy to the couple. However, something unfortunate happened. When the village chief heard that there was a strange painting in the Da Yang family, he proudly took it away. The goat hated the vicious village chief, but there was nothing he could do. The greedy village head hangs the picture on the wall of the bed like a big sheep, expecting the woman in the picture to come down every day. To his disappointment, nothing happened.
When the sheep's child grows up, he always keeps calling his mother. The sheep had to keep coaxing him that his mother had gone to the far west and could not come back. What the sheep said didn't help at all. The child insisted on finding his mother. Finally, he embarked on a journey to find his mother. He sailed west day and night, and finally he found his mother and many fairies taking a bath in a puddle in the forest. "Oh, my child, how did you run so far to find your mother? Quot "Just as the mother was talking, two crystal tears rolled down the child's cheeks. "Mom, you know, I lost you too much." "We can't really be together until you walk into the village chief's bedroom in the tiger's head shoes I sewed for you. Son, close your eyes and let me take you home first. "
After a whirlwind, he was surprised to find that he had arrived home. He told the village chief that he could summon the woman in the painting. The greedy village head eagerly took the child into his bedroom. When the child saw his mother, he shouted at the painting, "Mom, let's go." As soon as the voice fell, the woman in the painting answered, picked up the child and went out. However, the greedy village head blocked the way. He arrogantly asked this woman to be his wife. After being rejected, the village chief rushed over like a mother and son. The child bravely rushed up to fight with him. At this moment, the pair of tiger-headed shoes came loose from the boy's feet and immediately turned into a colorful tiger, only to see it quickly pounce on the evil village head. The village chief's cry for help and the tiger's roar resounded throughout the village ... Tiger shoes saved the mother and son and their families. Since then, people have started to make tiger-headed shoes for their children, hoping that they can protect the safety of children and families.